Ogemaw's Devin Griffus tries to shake loose during Friday's district title game. (Jon Garcia | The Bay City Times)

WEST BRANCH – Ogemaw Heights has misdirection, play-action and all kinds of fakes in its playbook.

But the Falcons didn’t need to fool anybody.

By the midpoint of their run-dominated 48-27 victory over Remus Chippewa Hills in the Division 4 district championship game, everybody knew what was coming. And nobody could do anything to stop it.

The Falcons (8-3) pounded the ball all night, hardly taking a side step let alone a backward one while piling up an eye-popping 529 yards with seven touchdowns – entirely with the ground game.

“You can tell things are working when the coach is calling the same play so many times in a row,” Ogemaw offensive tackle Alec Stevens said. “They can’t stop us so we’re just going to keep calling the same play.”

The Chippewa Hills defense got a steady dose of Brandon Benac, Tommy Dematio and Devin Griffus, who all eclipsed the 100-yard mark out of the Ogemaw backfield. With Benac – already the school’s all-time leading rusher -- going for 270 yards, Dematio tallying 118 and Griffus 106, there was no need to throw the ball. Ogemaw was 0-for-2 passing on the night.

Instead, Ogemaw coach Andrew Pratley turned the game over to his offensive line and watched Thane Robbins, David Roop, Todd Henry, Cody Field, George Patterson and Stevens move from one end of the field to the other.

“I’m an old O-lineman, so I know it’s a lot easier to run block than block on a pass play,” Pratley said.

As a sign of Ogemaw’s running-game dominance – and perhaps an example of why of it works – starting quarterback Ben Hartley spent the bulk of his night lined up at wide receiver, throwing far more blocks than passes in the game.

“That’s how these guys are, they do whatever is going to help the team,” Pratley said. “They prepare like it, they play like it and they believe in it.”

Now averaging 35.5 points per game, the Falcons have a chance to go down as the most potent offense in school history. Only the state championship team of 1997 is in the ballpark at 34.8. And as they head to Comstock Park for a shot at the regional crown, this year’s Falcons can only hope to hear more comparisons with the team that went the distance.